‘Charlie Parker’s Yardbird’ soars at Pittsburgh Opera
When someone mentions Charlie Parker, it’s jazz music, not opera, that springs to mind. The revolutionary saxophonist nicknamed “Yardbird” had a complicated life offstage with multiple marriages and struggles with addiction that contributed to his untimely death in 1955 at age 34.
Pittsburgh Opera gave his story new life in its in-person production of “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird” Saturday at the company’s Strip District headquarters. The opera, which is heavily influenced by jazz, delves into weighty issues of racial inequality, substance abuse and the legacy of bebop’s cocreator.
“Yardbird” focuses on the spirit of Parker, just recently passed, returning to his namesake jazz club, Birdland, to finish his final piece of music. Parker died in the hotel room of Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who finds his ghost at the club.
Soon other figures from Parker’s life enter and exit quickly, not unlike his real life. Three of his four wives, Rebecca, Doris and Chan, are each represented, along with his mother, Addie, and friend and trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie. He revisits episodes from his past as he attempts to create a lasting masterpiece.
From the beginning of the production, there are signs this piece is directed by artist Tomé Cousin. Known for his jazz choreography, Cousin opens the opera with a mysterious figure dressed all in white. Is it the angel of death? A riff on MephisDavid topheles or Charon guiding a soul to the underworld?
program refers to him as Moose the Mooche, supposedly the nickname of a drug dealer who supplied Parker.
In any case, Moose, as played by Tru Verret-Fleming, is a smooth mover, sliding in and out of scenes wordlessly and always at times when “Bird” feels the urge to use heroin. Lighting designer Todd Nonn flashes the lights a sickly color as Parker, played by Martin Bakari, clutches his arm. The audience doesn’t need any further explanation.
Bakari tackles the taxing marathon role of “Bird” without missing a beat. The music by Daniel Schnyder requires the tenor to hit the rafters regularly – in this case, all while wearing a mask. The socially distant performance followed the same strict protocols and limited capacity as the fall production of “Cosi fan tutte.”
Through the character of Charlie’s mother, Addie (Jasmine Muhammed), and first wife Rebecca (Chrystal E. Williams), the opera explores the tough choices faced by Black mothers. One of the best parts of the whole night was an energetic counterpoint between Muhammed and Bakari as the characters argued over “Bird” staying in Kansas City or moving to New York. Gillespie and later Chan arrives, wearing a dress practically lifted from Marilyn Monroe’s iconic subway breeze scene in “The Seven Year Itch” (which came out months after Parker’s death). The scenes with Dizzy (played with gusto by Yazid Gray) are by turns fun explorations of their bebopping friendship and serious messages about how Black musicians struggled during segregation. However, the scenes with Chan sap the opera’s energy. She sings of the time when she first heard about “Bird” and had to see him play and then proceeds to go on lyrically about how much he means to her, evoking her real-life memoir, “My Life in E-Flat.” It’s credit to Véronique Filloux as Chan that she makes these portions shine despite their pacing. When Charlie is committed to a state hospital, Cousin depends on the entire cast to portray doctors, waving white sheets like flags of surrender. Moose returns and interestingly illustrates through dance the toll of addiction and mental illness haunting Parker’s mind.
The ending is powerful. Maire Therese Carmack as the Baroness de Koenigswarter has a beautifully rich tone, lamenting that “Bird” is gone. The entire cast comes together to mourn his passing, and Bakari provides the right sense of poignant discovery for the opera’s final moments.
Despite its relatively brisk 90-minute running time, “Charlie Parker’s Yardbird” is a difficult opera for so many reasons. Musically, the cast is put to the test in unusual, jazzy passages requiring top range. Thematically, it doesn’t shy away from the hot-button issues of Parker’s life that remain relevant today.
In this production, the vocalists met the challenge through masks, and characters’ joy, heartache and acceptance feel earned. “Yardbird” has its moments, but in the end, it soars.
Performances continue Friday, Sunday, April 20 and 22. A livestream of a performance will be available at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and viewers can register at pittsburghopera.org.